UFC middleweight Tim Kennedy had words for his UFC 178 opponent Yoel Romero after their fight on Saturday night. Romero won the contest by stopping Kennedy with strikes in the third round, but the bout had a controversial ‘stoppage’ between the second and third round. While the call for ‘seconds out’ was given before the beginning of the third and final round, Romero and his corner continued to stay with Romero sitting on his stool. This took place for almost 30 additional seconds, giving Romero time to recover when he was nearly stopped with strikes at the end of the second round.
In a Vine that’s surfaced, Kennedy tells Romero that if a fighter is unable to begin the round on time for whatever reason, he or she is supposed to lose via TKO.
Kennedy also took to Twitter to find the exact rule in Nevada that he believes should have been employed:
NAC?467.728 If a combatant fails or refuses to resume competing when the bell sounds…the referee shall award a decision of TKO
— Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2014